Elections in Côte d Ivoire 2016 Legislative Elections

Transcription

1 Elections in Côte d Ivoire 2016 Legislative Elections Africa International Foundation for Electoral Systems 2011 Crystal Drive Floor 10 Arlington, VA December 14, 2016

2 When is Election Day?... 1 Who are citizens electing on Election Day?... 1 Who is allowed to vote in the country?... 1 How many registered voters are there?... 1 What is the structure of the government?... 1 Are there reserved seats for women? What is the gender balance within the candidate list?... 1 What is the election management body? What are its powers?... 2 What is a polling place? What is a polling booth?... 2 How many polling places are set up on Election Day?... 2 Is out-of-country voting allowed?... 2 How will voters with disabilities cast their ballots?... 2 What technology will be used?... 2 Will the election management body use a media center?... 2 Where is voting, counting and tabulation held?... 2 Who will be observing on Election Day? How can they get accreditation?... 3 When will official results be announced?... 3 How will election disputes be adjudicated?... 3 How will Election Day security be ensured?... 3 Resources... 4 Disclosure: These FAQs reflect decisions made by the Independent Electoral Commission of Côte d Ivoire as of December 14, 2016, to the best of our knowledge. This document does not represent any IFES policy or technical recommendations.

3 When is Election Day? Côte d Ivoire will hold legislative elections on December 18. Who are citizens electing on Election Day? On December 18, voters will elect 255 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. Who is allowed to vote in the country? Ivorians aged 18 and over who are registered on the voters list can vote. Côte d Ivoire s last election was a presidential election, held on October 25, The election had a 29 percent voter turnout against the voting age population, and 50 percent against registered voters. 255 seats will be contested; members of the National Assembly are elected from 205 single and multi-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. How many registered voters are there? The final 2016 voters list has 6,318,331 voters, of which 3,189,559 are men (50.48%) and 3,128,752 women (49.52%). What is the structure of the government? Côte d Ivoire has a voting age population of 11,401,580, and 6,318,331 registered voters. Côte d Ivoire is a secular republic based on the principle of the separation of powers in three functions: executive, legislative and judicial. The president and vice president are elected on the same ticket as the head of the executive branch. The president appoints a prime minister as head of government. The current government is comprised of 36 ministers, including nine women. Côte d Ivoire has a plurality electoral system. All members of the current government belong to the coalition Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace. According to the new constitution enacted on November 12, 2016, the new Parliament will consist of two chambers, the National Assembly and the Senate. Are there reserved seats for women? What is the gender balance within the candidate list? There are no reserved seats for women in the National Assembly of Côte d Ivoire. There is no gender balance requirement on party lists. There are 1,390 candidates running for the National Assembly, including 172 women. Page 1 of 4

4 What is the election management body? What are its powers? The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) manages and controls all elections and referenda in Côte d Ivoire. The CEI is comprised of 17 members, half of whom are from the ruling coalition and the other half from the opposition. What is a polling place? What is a polling booth? In Côte d Ivoire, voting usually takes place in public places, such as public schools. The polling place includes several polling stations. Each polling station is administered by three agents and candidates representatives and observers are admitted in the polling station. The polling station serves about 400 voters. How many polling places are set up on Election Day? There are 10,500 polling places including 19,297 polling stations for the December 18 legislative elections. Is out-of-country voting allowed? Out-of-country voting is not allowed for the legislative elections in Côte d Ivoire. How will voters with disabilities cast their ballots? Any voter with disability is allowed to be assisted by a person of his choice in order to cast his ballot. What technology will be used? The Independent Electoral Commission will use a mixed system of voting. Biometric tablets will be used to recognize voters and compute votes, but the physical voters list will also be used. A voter must be on the voters list to be allowed to vote. Will the election management body use a media center? There will be no media center for the 2016 legislative elections. As a matter of fact, Côte d Ivoire has never had a media center in its electoral history. Where is voting, counting and tabulation held? At the close of polling, agents count the votes in the polling station, in the presence of the representatives of candidates, observers and five selected voters if available. The results of the polling station are proclaimed and the tally sheet including remarks is completed on the spot. The tally sheet is Page 2 of 4

5 signed by the candidates representatives who are given a copy. Finally, results are displayed at the polling station. Who will be observing on Election Day? How can they get accreditation? The legislative elections may be observed by any legal individual institution and the press as long as they are accredited by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI). Accreditation forms may be acquired at the CEI s headquarter or downloaded from its website ( When will official results be announced? After tabulation and proclamation of results at the local level (polling stations, departments and regions), the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) proclaims provisional results at the national level. The CEI provides the Constitutional Council with a copy of the tally sheet and supporting documents within three days of proclamation of provisional results. Then, after vetting from the Constitutional Council, the CEI announces the final results. How will election disputes be adjudicated? Any candidate wanting to contest election results can file a claim with the Constitutional Council within five days from the date of the announcement of the final results. The Constitutional Council rules within 15 days of the referral. How will Election Day security be ensured? A plan to secure the legislative elections known as Operation 225 has been validated by the Independent Electoral Commission. This plan has been drafted and proposed by a coalition of armed forces including gendarmerie, police and army. Page 3 of 4

6 Resources Electoral Code of Côte d Ivoire (French) Independent Electoral Commission (French) Page 4 of 4